# Meteosource Weather MCP vs Xweather Weather API

> Xweather Weather scores 66.2 (B) to Meteosource Weather MCP's 50.9 (D) for weather forecasts. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-xweather
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-xweather.md (~4,800 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-08

Xweather Weather API scores 66.2 (B) on agent readiness against Meteosource Weather MCP's 50.9 (D), and leads in every scored category. Both do weather forecasts.

- Meteosource Weather MCP: grade D, 50.9/100, rank #1049 of 1513. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/meteosource-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/meteosource-mcp.json
- Xweather Weather API: grade B, 66.2/100, rank #378 of 1513. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/xweather.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/xweather.json
- Best weather and climate data APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/weather/index.md
- All 136 weather comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/weather/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Meteosource Weather MCP (D)

Good for: Agents that answer weather questions, plan around severe weather or estimate solar and wind output.

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Xweather Weather API loses 3 points for them

Watch for: Plain API key, no OAuth

### Xweather Weather API (B)

Good for: Teams that need lightning, hail, road weather or tropical data beside ordinary conditions and forecasts, with an MCP server and an OpenAPI file ready for agents.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 84 against 35
- Schema & documentation, 83 against 72
- Security & auth, 52 against 42
- Maintenance & community, 81 against 70
- Transparency & trust, 69 against 32

Watch for: The REST API documents `client_id` and `client_secret` only as query parameters, and the MCP server also accepts the key as `?api_key=`


## Why the edge

### Reliability: Xweather Weather API +49

- Meteosource Weather MCP (35): status.meteosource.com wasn't reachable (0). No history (5). Daily call quotas per plan, and the README's plans-and-limits section (15). Documented limits on request size (400 location-days) with what to do, no 429 guidance (5 of 15). No SLA found (0). Version 0.1.2, not labelled beta (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 5 + 0 + 10 = 35.
- Xweather Weather API (84): Graded as a hosted service. Status page at status.xweather.com on Atlassian Statuspage with 21 components, among them API General, Conditions, Forecasts, Alerts, Lightning Endpoints and MCP Server (20). Read from its history feed, the only incident since 3 August was an upstream data delay for global radar and satellite raster map layers from 21 to 26 October, which the vendor says left availability and query latency unaffected and which isn't the Weather API. Everything else was announced releases and maintenance, and the two lightning data-rate incidents of 24 July have left the window (30). Monthly quotas are published, 15,000 and 1,000,000 accesses, but the per-minute limit is given only in response headers and by support (8 of 15). 429 is documented with the codes `maxhits_min` and `maxhits`, the OpenAPI file declares `Retry-After`, seven `X-RateLimit-*` headers report the remaining allowance, the MCP docs advise exponential backoff, and failed calls are not charged. The API is read-only, so no idempotency keys are needed (13 of 15). The pricing page mentions custom SLA guarantees for enterprise plans, with no SLA document found (3 of 10). The REST API at 1.45.0 and the MCP server at 1.3.0 are generally available (10).

### Transparency & trust: Xweather Weather API +37

- Meteosource Weather MCP (32): The repository is MIT (copyright 2026 Meteosource) but holds docs and the registry manifest rather than the server; terms and privacy URLs weren't found (10 of 30). The MCP page says keys aren't stored in full and caches are per key (10 of 30). No deprecation policy (0). Subprocessors not found (5 of 20). 10 + 10 + 0 + 5 = 25.
- Xweather Weather API (69): Closed service under Vaisala's group subscription terms, dated 1 January 2023, which set a liability cap of twelve months' fees and ICC arbitration. They are written for annual, invoiced contracts and leave the product's own rules to service descriptions that were not found in public. The OpenAPI files and agent skills are MIT (15 of 30). The privacy policy is the group policy effective 1 June 2020. It covers online services, keeps data for a period it calls reasonable with no figure, and still cites the US Privacy Shield. No DPA was found (12 of 30). The changelog marks deprecations with dates, the API has `deprecated` and `warn_deprecated` codes, and the terms promise notice of modifications with a 30-day right to end the contract after a material reduction. No notice period is stated (8 of 20). A data processors page names about 40 processors with a location for each, with a caveat that it may be incomplete (16 of 20).

### Schema & documentation: Xweather Weather API +11

- Meteosource Weather MCP (72): Seven tools read from tools/list with JSON Schema inputs (25). No llms.txt found; the README is Markdown on GitHub (5 of 10). Descriptions say what each returns and which plan it needs (15 of 20). Typed inputs, no enums (10 of 15). A README table of error messages and fixes (10 of 15). Tagged releases v0.1.0 to v0.1.2, no changelog file (7 of 15). 25 + 5 + 15 + 10 + 10 + 7 = 72.
- Xweather Weather API (83): OpenAPI 3.2.0 and 3.1.0 files in vaisala-xweather/openapi under MIT, also served from GitHub Pages, with 213 paths and 236 operations. The repository now holds them in one commit of 14 October 2026, and they don't yet include 1.45.0's `/roadweather/alerts`. The MCP tools' input schemas need a key to list and were not read (25). llms.txt at www.xweather.com/llms.txt indexes the site and docs pages. The docs pages have no Markdown copies (a .md address returns 404), though six agent skills in Markdown cover request building (8 of 10). Every operation and parameter in the OpenAPI file has a description, and the MCP tool pages state each tool's purpose and limits, such as a 24-hour tool marked as not for multi-day forecasts (16 of 20). The file has 9 enums and 10 required parameters among 2,289 parameter uses, and `filter`, `query` and `sort` are free strings with their own grammar (8 of 15). Each operation declares 200, 401, 404, 429 and 500 with examples, and the docs list 16 error codes and the warning codes (13 of 15). Dated, numbered changelogs for the API and the MCP server. The API path carries no version (13 of 15).

### Maintenance & community: Xweather Weather API +11

- Meteosource Weather MCP (70): Repository commit and tag v0.1.2 on 26 October 2026 (30). Three tags in 90 days (20). Repository issues not read (0). Official registry entry com.meteosource/weather (15). Small repository with server.json; server source not public (5 of 10). 30 + 20 + 0 + 15 + 5 = 70. Registry presence read from Anchor Terminal's own daily import of the official MCP registry (/api/v1/registry.json, 6 November 2026), not the registry's API.
- Xweather Weather API (81): The newest API release is 1.45.0 on 21 October 2026, 11 days before this check, after 1.44.0 on 30 September (30). Since 3 August the API shipped 1.43.4, 1.43.5, 1.44.0 and 1.45.0, the MCP server 1.3.0 on 27 October, and the agent skills repository releases 0.14.1 to 0.15.4 between 1 September and 26 October (20). Public changelogs, a ticket form and support@xweather.com, with community support on the free tier and priority email on the paid plan. Response times were not tested (10 of 15). The MCP server is in the official registry as com.xweather/weather, active, though the entry still shows 1.2.2 (15). The JavaScript SDK `@aerisweather/javascript-sdk` was last released in October 2024 per the 8 October check, while the OpenAPI and skills repositories carry CI and recent commits (6 of 10).

### Security & auth: Xweather Weather API +10

- Meteosource Weather MCP (42): One API key per account in a header, never in the URL (20 of 30). All tools are reads (10 of 20). Weather data only, no third-party text (10). No audit log (0). No security programme found (2 of 20). Keys travel to the hosted server, which says it doesn't store them in full. 20 + 10 + 10 + 0 + 2 = 42.
- Xweather Weather API (52): Credentials are a `client_id` and `client_secret` per registered app, limited to a domain or app bundle namespace and regenerated in the dashboard. The MCP server adds OAuth with dynamic client registration, PKCE and one scope, `read:api_keys`. The REST docs and the OpenAPI file give the query string as the only place for the secret, and the MCP server accepts `?api_key=` and, since 1.3.0, the key in the URL path (22 less 10, 12 of 30). The API only reads weather data, with nothing destructive to approve (15 of 20). Responses are mostly numeric. Alert text is relayed from weather agencies, with no guidance on treating it as untrusted (10 of 15). Cost and quota headers come back on each call. No per-call log for the account holder was found in the docs (4 of 15). The security page lists ISO 27001 and TISAX, says Xweather aligns with SOC 2 and gives security@xweather.com, with no report linked and no bounty. xweather.com has no security.txt, while the parent vaisala.com has one with a policy link (11 of 20).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Meteosource Weather MCP | Xweather Weather API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 35 | 84 | Xweather Weather API +49 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 72 | 83 | Xweather Weather API +11 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 75 | 78 | Xweather Weather API +3 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 42 | 52 | Xweather Weather API +10 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 32 | Xweather Weather API +2 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 70 | 81 | Xweather Weather API +11 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 32 | 69 | Xweather Weather API +37 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |
| **Total** | | **50.9 · D** | **66.2 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Meteosource Weather MCP | Xweather Weather API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Meteosource | Vaisala Oyj |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://mcp.meteosource.com/mcp` | `https://data.api.xweather.com` |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service. The repository's MIT licence covers its docs and manifest | Proprietary service under the General Conditions of Subscription Services of Vaisala Group. The OpenAPI files and the agent skills on GitHub are MIT |
| Tools exposed | 7 | 21 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | `com.meteosource/weather` | `com.xweather/weather` |
| Last release | none | 2026-10-21 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2020-06-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | none | 0 stars, 1.4k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 3.8/5 (4) |

## How the scores have moved

### Meteosource Weather MCP

No score change since it was listed.

### Xweather Weather API

- -1.0 on 1 November 2026: correction, time
- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist

## Verdicts

**Meteosource Weather MCP.** Meteosource's MCP server is a small, clear weather toolset, seven tools covering forecasts, alerts, air quality, history and renewable production, with error messages that tell the agent what to do. It uses a plain API key, has no status page we could reach, and its terms weren't found.

**Xweather Weather API.** A public OpenAPI file with 236 operations, a hosted MCP server in the official registry and a free tier of 15,000 accesses a month suit agents. REST credentials travel only in the query string, per-minute limits are unpublished, and the group terms bar commercial use of free plans and passing data to third parties unless a service description allows it.

## Before you call either

### Meteosource Weather MCP

1. Call search_places first to resolve a location
2. Split history requests over 400 location-days into shorter ranges
3. Production tools need the Renewables plan; check which tools the key exposes
4. Send the key in a header, never in a URL

### Xweather Weather API

1. Check `success` and `error.code` on every response. Application errors such as `invalid_location` return HTTP 200 with `success` false
2. Send `fields`, `limit` and `plimit`. The docs put a 15-day hourly forecast at about 600 KB, and about 25 KB with three fields
3. Read `X-Cost-Tokens` after each call. Cost is the endpoint multiplier times the intervals requested, so narrow `from` and `to`
4. For MCP, send `Authorization: Bearer <client_id>_<client_secret>` and avoid the `api_key` query parameter, which puts the secret in the URL
5. Add `include_tags` or `include_tools` to the MCP URL to load only the tool groups the task needs
6. On 429 read `Retry-After` and the `X-RateLimit-Reset-*` headers. `maxhits_min` clears at the next minute, `maxhits` at the period reset

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Meteosource Weather MCP or Xweather Weather API?

Xweather Weather API scores 66.2 (B) on agent readiness against Meteosource Weather MCP's 50.9 (D), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Meteosource Weather MCP and Xweather Weather API need an API key?

Meteosource Weather MCP needs an API key. Xweather Weather API takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Meteosource Weather MCP and Xweather Weather API without installing anything?

Yes. Meteosource Weather MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://mcp.meteosource.com/mcp and Xweather Weather API at https://data.api.xweather.com.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-xweather.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-xweather.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "meteosource-mcp", "b": "xweather"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare meteosource-mcp xweather`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/meteosource-mcp.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/xweather.json

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- [Meteosource Weather MCP vs NOAA National Weather Service API (api.weather.gov)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-nws-api.md)
- [Meteosource Weather MCP vs OpenWeather One Call API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-openweather-one-call.md)
- [Meteosource Weather MCP vs Pirate Weather](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-pirate-weather.md)
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- [Meteosource Weather MCP vs Tomorrow.io Weather API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-tomorrow-io.md)
- [Meteosource Weather MCP vs Visual Crossing Weather API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-visual-crossing.md)
- [Meteosource Weather MCP vs The Weather Company Data APIs](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-weather-company.md)
- [Meteosource Weather MCP vs WeatherAPI.com](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-weatherapi-com.md)
- [Meteosource Weather MCP vs Weatherbit API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-weatherbit.md)
- [Stormglass API vs Xweather Weather API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stormglass-vs-xweather.md)
- [Meteosource Weather MCP vs Open-Meteo](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/meteosource-mcp-vs-open-meteo.md)
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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp